


True Bounty

by queen_scribbles



Category: Pillars of Eternity
Genre: Friendship, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-08
Updated: 2018-11-08
Packaged: 2019-08-20 11:33:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,154
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16554974
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queen_scribbles/pseuds/queen_scribbles
Summary: @pillarspromptsweekly fill 64: Harvest. I had a brief moment of contemplation for this one, because I had to figure out how to fill a harvest prompt when Ederity (who I really wanted to use) are still early summer-ish on their timeline. But there are plenty of things that can be harvested in summer, too, some of which I’ve explicitly mentioned Charity planting, so that worked out.





	True Bounty

**Author's Note:**

> @pillarspromptsweekly fill 64: Harvest. I had a brief moment of contemplation for this one, because I had to figure out how to fill a harvest prompt when Ederity (who I really wanted to use) are still early summer-ish on their timeline. But there are plenty of things that can be harvested in summer, too, some of which I’ve explicitly mentioned Charity planting, so that worked out.

 

If she didn’t pick the tomatoes soon, the plants might fall over under the weight of them. Charity pursed her lips and surveyed the rest of her garden. If the tomatoes were ripe, the cucumbers and strawberries probably were, too. Or would be soon.

 _The one problem with planning a summer wedding,_ she thought with a wry smile, zipping her necklace pendant back and forth on its chain. _Can’t get any actual planning done, ‘cause I’ll be too busy picking vegetables before they go bad._ There was only so much of the planning she could do in her head, after all. But it was what it was, and the date had been made public, so all she could do was work with it.

 _Would be less stressful if it could be smaller,_ Charity mused as she rolled up her sleeves and grabbed a basket to hold the tomatoes. But such were the hazards of marrying the mayor--especially one as well-liked by his people; while the ceremony itself could be on the more manageable side, Edér had warned her at least half of Dyrford was likely planning on showing up to the reception, invited or not.

“Weddin’s tend to turn into parties ‘round here, anyway,” he’d explained. “Even more when it’s a public figure.” He’d sounded more apologetic than anything, which made her wonder how _he_ felt about this tradition. She’d almost asked before biting her tongue. What was the saying; _The more the merrier_? Charity hoped that would hold true.

For now, though, she turned her thoughts to what planning she could do in her head as she moved from plant to plant and harvested the ripe tomatoes.

                      ----------                 ------------                ------------

She’d made it through the tomatoes and was just starting with the cucumbers when a cheerful voice cut through her reverie.

“Figured you’d be planning your big day,” Hendyna was grinning when Charity swiveled to face her. “Don’t you only have, what, two months?”

“Three.” Charity corrected. She wiped sweat off her forehead with her arm. “And I _am_ planning.” She tapped her temple. “The flower arrangements are gonna be gorgeous. But vegetable don’t pick themselves. And I need the money. Or, well, trade value. Gotta have some way to pay Dengler and Peycg to cook for half the village.”

Hendyna raised an eyebrow. “Half?”

“At least. Edér’s convinced the whole place will want to celebrate with us.”

“He’s probably not wrong.” Hendyna conceded with a laugh. “Especially considering what a good mayor he’s been. People like him. And you. We’re happy you two are happy.” She cocked her head, watching Charity examine the cucumbers for ripe ones. “In the meantime... would you like some help?”

Charity had been hoping she would offer. “That would be _wonderful,_ ” she said fervently, testing another cucumber. Not ready yet. “You can check on the strawberries. I planted them a bit late this year, so they might not be ready yet. Thank you _so much_.”

Hendyna smiled and tied back her hair before retrieving a basket. “It’s the least I can do since you tipped me to that stelgaer corpse a couple months back. The teeth made me a small fortune, and I have some things I’m trying with... other parts.”

Charity laughed and shook her head. “I don’t want to know.  Glad it was useful, but spare me the details.”

“Afraid I’ll ruin your appetite?”

“Hardly.” Charity snorted. She flicked hair back toward her ponytail . “Tavi left me a couple extra meat pies when she went back to Caed Nua. You’d have to do a damn sight worse to kill my appetite knowing that’s my dinner.” She sent her friend a knowing look. “And please don’t try.”

“Well, since you said please.” Hendyna winked and pushed up her sleeves as she knelt between strawberries plants. “What’re you doing for flower arrangements? Y’know, at the wedding?”

After a brief pause to switch lines of thought, Charity happily launched into a description of her plans. She went into quite a bit of of detail as the two of them worked, Hendyna occasionally interrupting with exclamations of agreement or slight suggestions on how to do something better, and before she knew it, several hours had passed. Hours they’d spent discussing all of the wedding--not just the flowers--and making their way through all the potentially-ripe fruits and vegetables.

“Thanks for your help,” Charity said as they lugged the full baskets into her house. “We got a lot more done than I could’ve hoped to do alone.” She glanced up at the sky to verify the time. “Would you like to stay for dinner?”

“Depends.” Hendyna set the basket of strawberries on the counter and turned to give Charity a significant look. “Would I be... _intruding_ on anything?”

Charity laughed and shook her head, wiping her hands on her shirt. “Edér has meetings all evenin’. It was just going to be me an’ Sparrow. And if I use some of the vegetables we just picked, I definitely have enough for two. C’mon, it’s been ages since we had a day just to talk.”

“Alright, alright,” Hendyna smiled. “Since this is clearly what you want and I didn’t have any other plans, I will stay for dinner.”

“Excellent!” Charity almost clapped. It really had been too long since she’d had a chance to talk with Hendyna or Peycg or any of her friends, really. Between planning the wedding and taking care of her gardens, she was very busy. But now, knowing there would be a few days before anything else was ready to harvest, she could take a night to chat with a friend. “One condition: no wedding talk. That can keep until tomorrow.”

“You drive a hard bargain.” Hendyna settled on the couch to pet Sparrow as Charity turned her attention to washing vegetables. “But fine.”

“Thank you. Tonight I just want to relax, talk about pretty much _anything_ else, and have fun with a friend while we appreciate the literal fruits of our labors.”

“That does sound fun,” Hendyna conceded. She nodded at the growing pile of washed vegetables. “Need any help?”

Charity hesitated. It was rude to ask help of a guest, but she’d offered, and it would get dinner on the table faster. “You could start cutting them up if you want.”

“You’re not bein’ rude, Charity,” Hendyna said reassuringly. “I like working with my hands.”

“I know. It’s just old habits,” Charity replied with a self-deprecating chuckle.

The rest of the evening was just as much fun as she’d been hoping; their conversation ranging over a variety of mundane topics. When Hendyna left, Charity made sure she took a good share of the fruits and vegetables with her. It was only fair to share the bounty, considering she only got so much because she had help. 

 _Thank Eothas for good friends,_ she thought as she watched Hendyna walk back toward town. They really were life’s greatest blessing.


End file.
